Chase the Skies
Chase the Skies
| Release date |
June 17, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Version(s) | |
| Placeholder name(s) |
|
{
"title": "Chase the Skies",
"images": [
"SummerDrop Leash A.jpeg",
"Trio of happy ghasts.webp"
],
"rows": [
{
"field": "June 17, 2025",
"label": "Release date"
},
{
"field": "\n*(link to Java Edition 1.21.6 article, displayed as Java Edition 1.21.6)\n*(link to Bedrock Edition 1.21.90 article, displayed as Bedrock Edition 1.21.90)",
"label": "Version(s)"
},
{
"field": "\n*Summer Drop 2025\n*Drop 2 2025\n*Game Drop 2 - 2025",
"label": "Placeholder<br>name(s)"
}
],
"invimages": [],
"footer": "<div style=\"display:inline-block\">\n<div style=\"display:inline-block;padding:0 .4em\"><span style=\"margin-right:-0.35em\">◄</span>◄ [[Tricky Trials]]</div>\n<div style=\"display:inline-block;padding:0 .4em\">◄ [[Spring to Life]]</div>\n</div><div style=\"display:inline-block\">\n<div style=\"display:inline-block;padding:0 .4em\">[[Fall Drop 2025]] ►</div>\n\n</div>"
}
There are guides for this update!See Java Edition guides/Chase the Skies and Bedrock Edition guides/Chase the Skies for a guide to all of the new features introduced in Chase the Skies.
Chase the Skies is a game drop that released on June 17, 2025. It added happy ghasts and harnesses, improved mechanics for shears and leads, craftable saddles, new background music, the "Tears" music disc, the player locator bar, as well as environmental fog in Java Edition and Vibrant Visuals in Bedrock Edition.
During development, the update was referred to as Summer Drop 2025 and Drop 2 2025 as the name of the Bedrock Edition experiment. The final name of the update was revealed in a minecraft.net article on June 1, 2025.[1]
Additions
Block
- Naturally generates next to Nether fossils in soul sand valleys.
- Can be obtained through bartering with piglins.
- Crafted with soul sand and 8 ghast tears.
| Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
|---|---|
| Ghast Tear + Soul Sand |
   |
- When put in water, the block's appearance changes 3 times depending on the time spent hydrated, changing its facial expression. After this, it becomes a ghastling.
Items
- Used to pilot a happy ghast.
- Crafted with leather, glass, and wool.
- Comes in 16 colors based on the color of the wool.
- Used in creative mode to spawn a happy ghast.
- Dropped by ghasts when killed by a player-deflected fireball.
- This action coincides with the "Return to Sender" achievement/advancement.
- The song was made by Amos Roddy.
- Obtained by killing a baby zombie while it is riding a chicken (a chicken jockey).
- The song was made by Hyper Potions.
Painting
- Added a new painting from the movie by the artist Sarah Boeving:
| Picture | Name | Size | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dennis | 3x3 | Sarah Boeving |
Mob
- A passive version of the ghast, which can be equipped with a harness and ridden by up to four players.
- Can be stood on, similar to a shulker.
- When not being ridden, will approach players holding snowballs.
Baby version is called a ghastling.
- Spawned after a dried ghast gets hydrated in water.
- Can be fed snowballs to speed up their growth.
GUI
- The locator bar is a new UI element on the player HUD that displays the direction of other players in the world.
- When the
locatorBargame rule is enabled and there are multiple players in a world, the locator bar will appear on-screen for each player, replacing the experience bar. The player's experience level will still be visible as before above the locator bar. - The locator bar will display colored indicators when the camera is facing within 120 degrees towards another player. If another player is 30 degrees above or below the camera's viewport (the screen), an up or down arrow will be displayed.
- Players in Spectator mode are not visible on the locator bar.
- A player can hide and prevent their indicator from appearing on the locator bar via the following means:
- Sneaking.
- Wearing a head or a carved pumpkin.
- Being under the Invisibility effect.
- Can be disabled by map creator or server operator.
- The locator bar can be used to locate entities other than the player, controlled by
waypoint_transmit_rangeandwaypoint_receive_rangeattributes. - The locator bar waypoint styles can be changed by
/waypointcommand. - The locator bar is in place of the EXP bar, But the EXP bar will show for a short time after collecting EXP.
- Added a way to display simple modal dialogs to a user.
- These can have buttons and other interactive features.
- Dialogs work with data packs and allow the creator to add additional features to the data pack.
- Dialogs are accessed through the pause menu.
- To avoid user confusion, dialog screens are marked with a warning sign next to the title.
Graphics
- The new default graphics setting on supported devices, placed above the Simple and Fancy settings.
- Adds pixel-perfect shadows, better lighting, water caustics, and many more graphical features.
- Planned for release on Java Edition at a later date.
- A new type of fog that renders in the Overworld.
- Is visually a white haze that grows in intensity in chunks that are far from the player.
- Does not replace the existing render distance-based fog that serves only to cover chunk borders.
- Becomes more intense during rain and thunderstorms, when the player is exposed to the rain.
Options
- A new settings option in Video Settings that changes the distance at which clouds can render.
- A new settings option in Music & Sounds that changes the length of silence between background music tracks.
- Can be set to Default, Frequent, or Constant.
- Enables a popup toast whenever a background music track starts playing.
- Indicates the song that has started playing, as well as its composer.
- Shows up at the top-left on the screen for a few seconds before disappearing, but is always present when on the pause screen.
- Can be set to On or Off.
Music
- Composed by Amos Roddy.
- Plays in frozen peaks and groves.
- Composed by Amos Roddy.
- Plays in cherry groves.
- Composed by Amos Roddy.
- Plays in lush caves.
- Composed by Amos Roddy.
- Plays in forests.
- Composed by Amos Roddy.
- Plays in deserts.
- Composed by Amos Roddy.
- Plays when inserting a "Tears" music disc into a jukebox.
Sounds
- Added a sound for when a lead snaps.
- Added sounds for shearing saddles, horse armor, and carpets from llamas.
Achievements
This feature is exclusive to Bedrock Edition.
- Place a Dried Ghast block into water
Advancements
This feature is exclusive to Java Edition.
- Place a Creaking Heart with the correct alignment between two Pale Oak Log blocks
- Place a Dried Ghast block into water
Commands
/dialog
- A new command that shows dialog to clients.
- Syntax:
/dialog show <targets> <dialog>- Show dialog to player(s).
<targets>- player name, UUID or a player selector.<dialog>- a namespaced ID fromminecraft:dialogregistry or inline dialog value as described above.- Returns number of players in targets argument.
/dialog clear <targets>- Clean dialog for player(s), if they have any visible.
<targets>- player name, UUID or a player selector.- Returns number of players in targets argument.
/version
- No arguments.
- Prints current version information on server side.
- Available in singleplayer or for server operators.
/waypoint
- A new command for querying and modifying waypoints.
- Syntax:
- Parameters:
entity-selector: For selecting entities that are transmitting as waypoints (seewaypoint_transmit_rangeattribute).color: Overrides the locator bar icon color for this waypoint.hex <hex-color>arguments are in web format (RRGGBB).- Red is either hex F00 or hex FF0000.
- Cornflower blue is hex 6495ED.
style: For changing the icon spriteset and selection distances.- Sets the waypoint style from
waypoint_styledirectory in a resource pack. - By default, it is set to
default.
- Sets the waypoint style from
set <waypoint_style/resource>changes the style to a specific asset underwaypoint_style/- The game does not check if a definition exists under the directory, setting it to a non-existent definition will result in a missing texture for the waypoint.
resetwill restore the default icon behavior of the Locator Bar.
Changes
Items
- Is now crafted with 5 string, with the former slimeball in its recipe replaced by an additional piece of string.
| Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
|---|---|
| String |
- Entities can now be attached to other entities with leads.
- Can now be removed from entities using shears, including dispensers containing shears.
- Snapping distance has been increased to 12 blocks.
- Can now be found in monster room, ancient city, desert temple, jungle temple and stronghold altar chests in quantities 1-5, replacing saddles.
- Can now be crafted with 3 leather and 1 iron ingot.
| Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
|---|---|
| Leather + Iron Ingot |
   |
- Can now be removed from mobs wearing them by using shears on the mob.
- Cannot be removed this way from ravagers or mobs with riders.
- Can no longer be equipped using dispensers.
- No longer found in chests in monster rooms, ancient cities, desert temples, jungle temples and in stronghold altar chests.
- Can now remove saddles, horse armor, harnesses and carpets from mobs.
- Can now cut leads.
- They cannot be removed if the mob has a rider.
- They cannot be removed if the player is crouching.
- Saddles cannot be removed from ravagers.
- Dispensers with shears cannot remove saddles, horse armor, harnesses and carpets equipped on mobs.
- Splash potions now have a duration that varies based on distance from the impact point. If a splash potion directly hits an entity, the entity receives the full duration and potency of the effect. However, if the entity is further away from the impact, the effect's duration and potency decrease linearly.
Mob
- The resolution of the ghast texture has been doubled to match the new happy ghasts.
- Now drops a ”Tears” music disc when player kills it using a deflected fireball.
- New variant-happy ghast.
Graphics
- The texture for cloud distribution has been changed.
- Now has more, smaller gaps between the clouds.
- Clouds are of a more consistent, oval shape than before.
- Now has a creeper face made up of clouds in a certain section of the texture.
- Cloud render distance has been increased.
Music
- Music now continues to play even when paused in an offline game.
Further revisions
Java Edition
- 1.21.7 added the "Dennis" painting variant and the "Lava Chicken" music disc.
Bedrock Edition
- 1.21.93 added the "Lava Chicken" music disc.
Promotions
Giveaway
To promote the release of the drop, a contest was held to give away ten travel-themed prizes. These included a hammock, a blanket, a weekender bag, Crocs, a thermos, and a creeper-themed cooler bag.[2] To participate, players were tasked with taking a screenshot of gameplay, possibly using Vibrant Memories. Up to five photos per day were eligible.[3]
Vibrant Memories
Main article: Vibrant Memories Add-On
The day following the drop's release, an add-on was published to promote the introduction of Vibrant Visuals. Developed by Oreville Studios, the add-on allows players to immortalize specific locations and memories in their worlds.
Take on Ghastastic Challenges
Main article: Take on Ghastastic Challenges
To promote the release of the drop, an advertising campaign began on June 20, featuring two community challenges.
| Name | Image | Type | Rarity | How to obtain | Challenge | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Icon | Render | |||||
| Ghast Rider Floatie |  |
 |
Outerwear
|
Rare
|
Required to spawn 50 Million happy ghasts in creative mode. | Community Challenge #1 |
| Happy Ghast Pilot Gear |  |
 |
Headwear
|
Required to feed snowballs to 1 Million ghastlings. | Community Challenge #2 | |
Videos
Main article: CHASE THE SKIES WITH VIBRANT VISUALS
Gallery
Official artwork
-
-
-
Key art with characters. -
Key art background. -
Key art of four characters riding a happy ghast. -
A cropped version of the key art. -
Pre-release key art. -
A textless version of the alternate key art. -
Page 1 of the launch pamphlet, announcing the release platforms. -
Page 2 of the launch pamphlet, listing off biomes and the locator bar. -
Page 3 of the launch pamphlet, listing off structures and snacks. -
Page 4 of the launch pamphlet, listing off activities. -
Page 5 of the launch pamphlet. listing off items and the happy ghast. -
Page 6 of the launch pamphlet, listing off "souvenirs". -
Sunny preparing for launch. -
Sunny's laptop confirming the drop's release. -
Community challenges rewards.
Mojang screenshots
-
Three photographs of happy ghasts. -
The three new types of ghasts introduced. -
-
-
A happy ghast and a ghastling in a field. -
Each stage of hydration. -
Zuri building on a happy ghast. -
A chuckle of happy ghasts flying in mountains. -
Ari looking at a dried ghast in a soul sand valley next to a nether fossil. -
Ari riding a horse while followed by a happy ghast leashed to a camel. -
A similar but distinct scenario. -
A ghastling next to water. Ripples and reflections can be seen. -
-
-
Ditto, but with a mangrove swamp.
Merchandise images
References
- ↑ "Our next game drop has a name" by Sophie Austin – Minecraft.net, June 1, 2025.
- ↑ "The Chase the Skies drop is here! To celebrate, we are giving away 10 travel-themed prize packs so you can adventure in style this summer. Relax in a custom Minecraft hammock, curl up with an exclusive Chase the Skies blanket, or get away from it all with a deluxe weekender bag and more!
Enter here: aka.ms/chasetheskiessweepstakes" – @Minecraft (Minecraft) on X (formerly Twitter), June 18, 2025 - ↑ "Chase the Skies Sweepstakes" by Minecraft – Gleam, June 18, 2025. "The Chase the Skies drop is here!
To celebrate, we are giving away ten (10) travel-themed prize packs so you can adventure in style this summer. Relax in a custom Minecraft hammock, curl up with an exclusive Chase the Skies blanket, or get away from it all with a deluxe weekender bag. Decorate your Crocs with blocky Jibbitz, stay hydrated with a Thermos water bottle and keep things cool in a creeper cooler bag by Igloo.
To enter, sign up below. Terms apply (see below). For additional entries, share a fun screenshot of your adventures while playing Minecraft, or by checking out the new Vibrant Memories camera add-on to level up your in-game photography. Will you showcase an amazing sunset using Vibrant Visuals? Take a picture of your happy ghast? Share a group photo with your friends? Come back again and again for an additional five (5) entries each day by sharing new photos.
Travel is more fun with others! You can get additional entries by referring your friends. Good luck and enjoy the journey!"
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